Media Messaging: Developing Effective Prevention Messages

Prevention campaigns are often seen as the answer to addressing substance use in the community. They are visible, wide reaching, and often meet the requirement to “do something about the substance use problem!” But just as often, campaigns can fail to produce the outcomes that are needed. APSI has invited Dr. William Crano of Claremont Graduate University and a member of APSI’s Science Advisory Board, to discuss a model called EQUIP, which is designed to help prevention and communications practitioners develop the most effective and persuasive messages. Strong messaging is important today to those of us working in prevention because of the wide array of media that are now deployed to reach populations at risk. Our communication efforts need to be based on a strong message that can be adapted to the appropriate channels for reaching the audience where it is. Dr. Crano will present the model and explain how its elements, namely, Engage, Question, Inform, Undermine, and Persuade--EQUIP, can be used to guide the development of effective and persuasive messages. Susan David, APSI Vice President, will join Dr. Crano in discussing some of the challenges in developing campaigns based on her experience in developing and evaluating campaigns at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Speaker bios 

Dr. William Crano is currently Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California. His basic research is concerned with social influence, especially the impact of minorities on the beliefs and actions of the majority, and on the effects of self-interest on attitudes and actions. His applied research is concerned with the development of persuasive and instructional information to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to prevent drug abuse, in children and adolescents. He is a fellow of the APA and APS, has been a NATO Senior Scientist, a Fulbright Fellow to Brazil, and a liaison scientist in the behavioral sciences for the Office of Naval Research, London. He also has served as the Chair of the Executive Committee for the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and as Director of the Program in Social Psychology at NSF. He is on the editorial boards of Human Communication Research and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and previously served on the boards of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, and the International Journal of Group Tensions.

Ms. Susan David entered the field of substance abuse prevention and research in 1970 when she began her Federal career at the U. S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). There she was involved in developing a wide-range of communication programs. These included multi-media campaigns, pamphlets, posters, and videos designed to educate the public and professionals on research-based information on drug use and drug-related HIV/AIDS. She directed campaigns to: Educate parents and young people about the dangers of illegal drugs; promote the need for treatment; and communicate the consequences of HIV/AIDS and drug use. She also coordinated the impact evaluation of the White House National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to measure the long term impact of the campaign on parents and youth.